Jerusalem – The UK government is considering upgrading the status of the Palestinian delegation to that of diplomatic mission, Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported today. In Israel, officials fear this might lead to the unilateral declaration of Palestinian statehood.
If carried out, the step would follow that of various South American nations who have already granted recognition to an independent Palestinian state. The Palestinian delegation would thus enjoy a status similar to that of an independent state, which will turn Palestinian delegates into diplomats.

So far, only Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador and Bolivia have recognised a Palestinian state. France, Spain and Portugal have already recognised the Palestinian delegation as a diplomatic mission

The Israeli government is very concerned about the possible move because the current UK government is considered pro-Israel. Its action would profoundly change the European context.
The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) confirmed that it was looking into the possibility of upgrading the Palestinian delegation's status. A FCO spokesperson said the matter was indeed being examined thoroughly.

After Brazil announced in early December that it recognised a Palestinian state, Argentina, Bolivia and Ecuador followed suit, and Paraguay and Uruguay said they would do the same in early 2011. Chile and Peru are also expected to reach a similar decision. Before this month, Venezuela was the only country in South America to have done so.

..."It sends out a strategic signal showing that the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), made up of the 12 countries in the region, can reach common decisions on the international stage, independently of what the United States or other powerhouses do," he said.

The United States and Israel do not like this independence. Mostly Israel doesn't like it.

Israel and the United States immediately criticised the Brazilian government's decision. A U.S. State Department official called it "premature," and an Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman said: "This is a very disappointing step which contributes nothing to furthering the peace process."...The new common position emerged from the debates between the South American bloc and the League of Arab States, Vigevani said, because this region sees recognition of a Palestinian state as boosting the peace process in the Middle East.

The danger of course is that the links between South America and Arab states will be used for false flag terrorism. Should something happen, say in Paraguay or the Tri-Border Area, experts will immediately point to the close ties between Arab states and South America to drive suspicion in certain directions and justify a plan of action.

Paraguay has a lot of natural resources, and ecotourism has been suggested as a good industry since the 1990s.

I would like to see more ecotourism programs in this unique area and have them be managed in a way that preserves and enhances the Chaco's resources. Unfortunately, Natur and other Paraguayan tourism organizations have a long way to go before they achieve all of the benefits available through ecotourism. As stated, these companies need to work more closely with the native populations to ensure they receive more benefits from the programs. The Paraguayan government needs to create policies that encourages ecotourism. The government should establish preservation regulation that ensures the survival of the area's wildlife. Finally, tourism operators need to follow guidelines that reduce the impact on the resource they use. Ecotourism should be promoted in the Chaco as long as it is beneficial for the Chaco's people and wildlife.

Some people take ecotourism trips to South America to engage in sex with children.

About a year and a half ago (here and here), I referred to Sun Myung Moon's purchase of 600,000 hectares of Paraguay's Chaco for the stated intention of erecting an "ecological paradise."Moon's land sits atop the Guarani Aquifer, the Earth's largest resource of fresh drinking water, and also happens to be an "enormously strategic point in both the narcotics and arms trades," according to Paraguay's drug czar from 1976-89. "The available intelligence clearly shows that the Moon sect is involved in both these enterprises."

Those two links: (here and here) -- you might want to read those. Everything will make much more sense.
The last paragraph of the second link:

So what do we have? Two huge post-apocalyptic sanctuaries resting atop enormous aquifers [in Northern Paraguay]. Two billionaire globalists, one a New Age mystic [Maurice Strong] and the other a cultist who has insinuated himself into the leadership of the America's conservative evangelical movement [Sun Myung Moon], both patronized by the Rockefellers. UFOs and crop circles. Welcome to our world.

So, now we have a little problem appearing. Two problems actually. The first problem is the South American countries aligning their foreign policy to recognize a Palestinian state. However, since they have every right to do that, Israel's hands are tied. And yet something must be done to stop this development.

The narrative about Hezbollah in the Tri-Border Area has been in place for about twenty years, juiced up from time to time to keep it alive in the herd attention space. So it is ready to go.

In the meanwhile, it would be helpful if Paraguay had a reputation for being difficult.

IN a vast patch of wilderness half a world away, a defining confrontation is under way between two groups of people who have never set eyes on one another and probably never will.

On one side is a team of zoologists and botanists from Britain's Natural History Museum, eager to discover and document plant and animal species hitherto unknown to science. On the other is a tiny tribe of "uncontacted" Indians, the remnants of an indigenous people who want nothing to do with the outside world.
Between them lies the Gran Chaco, the great forest of impenetrable thorn scrub roughly the size of Poland that stretches across northern Paraguay, Bolivia and Argentina, a place so violently hot and spectacularly inhospitable that even the conquistadors failed to penetrate it.

We suspect these are not the blood-thirsty "uncontacted" Indians in question, but then again, no caption accompanies the photo.

Are you going to pick a side then?

"Last year, the Natural History Museum announced that a team of 60 scientists would be heading to the Dry Chaco forest to unlock its natural mysteries."

"The Chaco is home to at least 3400 plant species and hundreds of species of birds, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians."

"The Natural History Museum argues that a full scientific exploration is vital to protecting this fragile ecosystem, and predicts the expedition would uncover "several hundred new species of plants and insects"."

"But then, last month, the Paraguayan government suspended the expedition after protests on behalf of the Ayoreo Indians, one of only a handful of uncontacted tribes left in the world, and the only one in South America outside the Amazon."

"There are thought to be just 150 Ayoreo left in the area, in perhaps half a dozen isolated groups dotted throughout the forest."

So who is ruining everything? The Paraguayan government. Even a child can see the set up.

Obviously the need for scientists to catalog all the plants and animals in the Chaco supersedes the needs of 150 crazy Indians. There could be cures for diseases in there, right? Anyway, the scientists promise to be very careful and not bother the Indians. So who is being unreasonable? The Paraguayan government.

Maybe they are unreasonable about other things too.

Nevertheless, the author goes on to acknowledge exploitation of the Chaco.

"Vast areas are being cleared to grow meat for hamburgers and biofuel for cars. Some 90 per cent of the forest in which the Ayoreo roam is now in the hands of private owners, ranchers and investors. Satellite imagery shows that one million hectares, or nearly 10 per cent of the virgin forest of northern Paraguay, has been cleared in the past four years."

Investors like George Bush, Maurice Strong, and Sun Myung Moon?

"The real threat to the Ayoreo are not the scientists, or even the contagious diseases they might bring to the forest, but industrial-scale deforestation, cattle farming and missionaries deliberately subverting their culture.... If the scientists can draw the world's attention to the fragility of the Chaco ecosystem then that, in turn, might just protect and preserve one of the few untouched tribes on earth, for a world that seeks to protect the giant anteater and the prehistoric lungfish might also leave the Ayoreo alone. So long as the scientists are inoculated against every possible disease, and make no contact with the few remaining indigenous people, they will surely do more good than harm to the Ayoreo."

The real threat are not the scientists. The scientists want to draw the world's attention to the fragile Chaco environment. Why? Because it is being exploited. But who exploits the Chaco?

Addendum: In this video around minute 4:30, Leuren Moret talks about DNA surveys from space.

"...they are doing DNA surveys from space. This would be NASA and the Navy. NASA is run by the Navy. They have been tracking and identifying isolated populations, for instance in the Amazon, who have never had contact with Western people. These are villages of isolated people who are still living their traditional hunter-gatherer lives, and they've never seen a Westerner. That's not just humans. They are also doing a global species survey, and I've been tracking this for two years and noticed that many new species are being discovered, and it seems to be on a grid system. So they're doing a survey from space, and they went down the west coast of South America and then came up the east coast, and now they're in Southeast Asia." ~ Leuren Moret

1) SYMPTOMS: Clinically, yellow fever presents in most cases with fever, nausea, and pain and it generally subsides after several days. In some patients, a toxic phase follows, in which liver damage with jaundice (giving the name of the disease) can occur and lead to death. ...The WHO estimates that yellow fever causes 200,000 illnesses and 30,000 deaths every year in unvaccinated populations;[4] around 90% of the infections occur in Africa.[5]...Yellow fever begins after an incubation period of three to six days.[8] Most cases only cause a mild infection with fever, headache, chills, back pain, loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting.[9] In these cases the infection lasts only three to four days. 15% of cases enter a second, toxic phase of the disease with recurring fever, this time accompanied by jaundice due to liver damage, as well as abdominal pain. Bleeding in the mouth, the eyes and in the gastrointestinal tract can cause vomitus containing blood (giving the name black vomit).[10] The toxic phase is fatal in approximately 20% of cases, making the overall fatality rate for the disease 3% (15% * 20%).[11]

2) DIAGNOSIS: Yellow fever is a clinical diagnosis, which often relies on the whereabouts of the diseased person during the incubation time. Mild courses of the disease can only be confirmed virologically. Since also mild courses of yellow fever can significantly contribute to regional outbreaks, every suspected yellow fever has to be treated seriously (six to ten days after leaving the affected area symptoms of fever, pain, nausea and vomiting).

If yellow fever is suspected, the virus can be confirmed until six to ten days after the illness. A direct confirmation can be obtained by Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction where the genome of the virus is amplified.[5] Another direct approach is the isolation of the virus and its growth in cell culture using blood plasma; this can take one to four weeks.

Serologically an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay during the acute phase of the disease using specific IgM against yellow fever or an increase in specific IgG-titer (compared to an earlier sample) can confirm yellow fever. Together with clinical symptoms, the detection of IgM or a fourfold increase in IgG-titer is considered sufficient indication for yellow fever. Since these tests can cross-react with other Flaviviruses, like Dengue virus, these indirect methods can never prove yellow fever infection. Liver biopsy can verify inflammation and necrosis of hepatocytes and detect viral antigens. Because of the bleeding tendency of yellow fever patients, a biopsy is only advisable post mortem to confirm the cause of death.

In a differential diagnosis, infections with yellow fever have to be distinguished from other feverish illnesses like malaria. Other viral hemorrhagic fever, such as Ebola virus, Lassa virus, Marburg virus or Junin virus have to be excluded as cause.

So, a common disease, endemic to Africa, that should be taken seriously immediately, and which can definitely be diagnosed in one to four weeks, if not sooner.

Prevention includes vaccination (of course) and CONTROLLING MOSQUITOES. The disease is transmitted by mosquitoes. Kill the mosquitoes.

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation awarded 100,000 dollars each on Wednesday to scientists in 22 countries including funding for a Japanese proposal to turn mosquitos into "flying syringes" delivering vaccines. The charitable foundation created by the founder of software giant Microsoft said in a statement that the grants were designed to "explore bold and largely unproven ways to improve global health."]

SO, the big question is, what is the EXPLANATION for why it took the authorities TWO MONTHS to identify the disease, 1) during which time the disease spread, and 2) they did some useful fear-mongering about mysterious diseases like maybe even the plague, and 3) now can justify a huge vaccination program for 2.5 million people?

“The common signs of this fever are yellow eyes and urine as well as vomiting but this time around the symptoms are severe. This explains why investigations have taken long,” he explained.

The known symptoms of the known disease known to Africa -- SEE WIKIPEDIA -- were severe. And that is why the brilliant scientists at the WHO and the CDC couldn't figure it out for two months, even with laboratories.....

Of course, this explanation makes no sense whatsoever. It sounds very remarkably like a lame excuse, like the dog ate my homework. But we don't think you will hear anyone in a position of authority to press or complain, because the SOLUTION to the PROBLEM has now been JUSTIFIED and arranged -- a massive VACCINATION program for 2.5 million people.

THE mysterious disease that has devastated parts of Acholi and Karamoja sub-regions for close to a month could be human plague. Kitgum district LC5 chairman, John Komakech Ogwok, quoting sources from the World Health Organisation, said on Friday evening that preliminary tests point at the plague. "Information from the World Health Organisation says that the strange disease that has been disturbing us seems to be plague.

The "mysterious" and "strange" disease has been devastating parts of Northern Uganda. The EXPERTS at the World Health Organization, after studying the disease, said that it appears to be plague.

The article goes on...

But the tests have ruled out Ebola or Marbug as has been widely suspected by people here," he said.
Speaking during a book launch at the district council hall, Ogwok said further tests were still being carried out to ascertain which of the three types of the plague disease could be infecting the people.
Human plague is transmitted by fleas that move on rats and other rodents.

The symptoms are said to be similar to the ones associated to a strange disease that broke out in Abim about a month ago and has now spread to Agago, Kitgum, Lamwo and Pader districts.

Those infected manifest symptoms of headache, stomach-ache, bloody vomiting and diarrhoea and also cases of blood sipping through most of the openings in the body.
The last known report of the human plague disease in Uganda was reported in Arua District in 2004 and Nebbi in 2006.
Meanwhile, one more person in Kitgum, a 70-year-old Benon Ongwen died on Thursday at St Joseph's Hospital from the mysterious disease, bringing to nine the total number of people who have died due to the disease and a total of 16 people infected by the disease as of Friday.

The public is urged not to panic because the ministry of health is doing everything possible to confirm the cause of the illness and control it promptly

KAMPALA, (Xinhua) -- Uganda’s ministry of health said on Monday that despite extensive investigations, epidemiologists are yet to diagnose a strange disease that has so far killed over 31 people out of the 96 cases registered in the northern part of the country.

Nathan Kenya Mugisha, Director General of Health Services in a statement issued here by the ministry, said that more investigations are still being conducted to explore the possible cause of the outbreak.

“The public is urged not to panic because the ministry of health is doing everything possible to confirm the cause of the illness and control it promptly,” said Mugisha.

Preliminary investigations by the country’s Uganda Virus Research Institute and other international collaborative laboratories like Center for Disease Control in Atlanta United States have ruled out Ebola, Marburg, Rift Valley fever, Lassa fever, Congo Crimean fever and Typhoid fever.

Today, guess what?! Turns out the "mysterious" and "strange" disease, which befuddled all the experts for weeks and weeks, is a COMMON DISEASE OF SOUTH AMERICA AND SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA CALLED: YELLOW FEVER.

"Yellow fever is caused by a small virus that is spread by the bite of mosquitoes. This disease is common in South America and in sub-Saharan Africa." Google Health

With the latest outbreak, at least 2.5 million people will be vaccinated against the disease in northern Uganda.

According to Mugisha, 2.5 million vials of the yellow fever vaccine will be urgently imported to protect the people from the deadly disease, which is spread by mosquitoes.

The disease, which has a high fatality rate, can kill in a week, according to medical officers. The ministry, in collaboration with the World Health Organisation, the Centres for Disease Control and other partners, is working on the importation of the vaccine, which is expected in the country in January.

"The disease, which has a high fatality rate, can kill in a week, according to medical officers."

12/26/10

"I just don't know why we have to come and beg people that we put in office to work for us, to work for us." ~ Sandra Hines

Well, the trouble is, of course, that we DIDN'T put the people in office, and that's why they don't work for us. The people in office work for those who put them in office. They work for bankers. And that's why it SEEMS LIKE they work for bankers. Because they actually do!

Remember that politics is a playpen, an elaborate social engineering experiment that keeps many people happily entertained and employed, while signifying nothing.

The American people seem a little slow on the uptake with this situation.

^^^^^^^

For decades, Americans send a lot of foreign aid to certain countries. Israel and Egypt receive a lot of US foreign aid. We hear a lot about Israel. We don't hear so much about Egypt.

In Egypt, 50 million people live below the poverty line. The total population is around 80 million people. High food prices, unemployment and poverty have stalked the Egyptian population for many years.

Hosni Mubarak has been in power in Egypt for almost 30 years. During those same years, the United States has poured billions and billions of taxpayer dollars into Egypt.

Evidently, all our billions of taxpayers dollars have not done much for the majority of the Egyptian people. Sorry.

^^^^^^^

Hosni Mubarak has never named a Vice President. Hosni Mubarak has two sons, Alaa and Gamal. Many people think that son number two, Gamal, will take over when Hosni dies.

Gamal Mubarak got married in 2007 at age 44. He married a woman twenty years younger, Khadiga el-Gammal (her close friends call her Moni). "Miss Khadiga is part of an old family in the city of Damietta in northern Egypt in a village called The Village of El-Gamal. The wealthy family closely associated with the mysterious Egyptian Refaat El-Gamal, who is known as Refaat Elhagan, the main character in the famous spy episode that happened Israel for Egypt’s benefit. That family owns a large amount of agriculture and lands." The couple now have one child. (The Wedding of Gamal Mubarak Stirs the Attention of Egyptians)

Refaat Ali Slueiman el-Gammal (Arabic: رفعت علي سليمان الجمال‎) (July 1, 1927 – January 30, 1982), better known as Raafat el-Haggan (Arabic: رأفت الهجّان‎) in Egypt and as Jack Beton in Israel, was an Egyptian spy who spent 17 years performing clandestine operations in Israel. Most information about him is still confidential.[1]
According to the Egyptian General Intelligence Directorate (EGID), he moved to Israel as an Egyptian Intelligence asset in 1956. He was well-known in the Israeli society and was involved in commercial projects. According to the Egyptians, he provided the Egyptian intelligence service with important information while operating a tourism company as a front. El-Gammal's intelligence concerned, among other things, the Six-Day War and he had an important role in the Yom Kippur War by providing Egypt with detailed engineering data about the Bar Lev Line. El-Gammal is considered a national hero in Egypt.

However, A book that describes various spy affairs in Israel claims that the information published by the Egyptian Intelligence is pure fiction and that the Shin Bet knew about El-Gammal from the early beginning and converted him into a double agent to work for them, and that he provided many disinformation to the Egyptians which lead to the destruction of the Egyptian Air Force in the Six-Day War.[2]

On the other hand, the Egyptians strongly deny that El-Gammal was a double-agent supporting their story by the important information he provided them.

We notice how countries seem to come and go in the news. The focus and blackouts seem to be coordinated. For instance, there have been no stories about the Tri-Border Area of Paraguay since early December. But there have been lots and lots of stories about Uganda. And now we see some stories about Egypt, and Al Qaeda, and spies, and Egypt's supposedly worsening relationship with Israel.

The front pages of most Egyptian newspapers have been dominated by news of the Egyptian Kung Fu instructor who was recruited by Israeli intelligence agency Mossad in 2007 in return for US$7500. Since the network was unraveled, many other stories of espionage have emerged in the local media.
Most recently, Egyptian authorities introduced a new suspect, known to the Israelis as “The Master,” who has been reportedly working for the Mossad for 20 years and is said to have recruited hundreds of Egyptians to spy for Israel.
The suspect, Tarek Abdel Razek Eissa, is alleged to have attempted to recruit a chief editor at a major pro-Syrian Lebanese newspaper. Abdel Razek also confessed to authorities that Israel had been behind the mass internet outage in 2008, said at the time to have been caused by damaged cables in the Mediterranean Sea. He has also reportedly provided information regarding intelligence he received from a Syrian chemist concerning Syria’s alleged nuclear program.

Many examples of Israel-Egypt cooperation, both on the official and social levels, have also been brought to light--to the dismay of many Egyptians. The first of these were reports earlier this year of an Egypt-Israel gas deal worth some US$10billion. Pundits in the Egyptian media decried the agreement, claiming that Egypt stood to lose money on the deal, as Israel would be buying the gas at prices lower than its market value.
Other reports this year revealed that, due to massive unemployment in Egypt, there were large numbers of Egyptian nationals working in Israel, and that Egyptians actually comprised some 13 percent of the Israeli army’s civilian workforce....The Egyptian government is generally expected to speak out against Israeli violations against the Palestinians--like the recent spate of air strikes targeting the Gaza Strip--with little in the way of follow-up.

Just like with the politicians in the US, we have to go by what they DO not what they SAY. Just like with all people.

Mubarak junior, a banker-turned-politician, has been closely associated with a clique of rich businessmen since his ascent through the ranks of the ruling party began a decade ago, giving many Egyptians the impression of him as a "rich boy" with little understanding of the hardships endured by the poor....In the five years ahead of the next parliamentary election in 2015, he said, the party needs to create more jobs, increase non-oil exports, nearly double the number of tourists coming every year and lift a million families out of poverty....Gamal Mubarak has frequently sought to debunk talk of him being groomed to succeed his 82-year-old father, but has never categorically denied it. The older Mubarak, who had surgery this year to remove his gallbladder, rarely speaks in public on the issue of succession.

Repressive measures against journalists and human rights activist have now become common currency in Egypt, where neither domestic nor international laws are respected.

For instance, Journalist Hamdi Taha was arrested 3/27/10 in a raid on his home by plain clothed State Security forces and the Central Security services.

The security services terrorized his family members and locked them in their bedrooms during the raid.

He has been arrested before after writing about government corruption and publishing the stories in various Egyptian newspapers and websites. Security services arrested him under false pretenses and held him without further investigation.

Three newspapers he has written for have been shut down by Egyptian authorities.

The State Security Prosecutor in Aswan is currently investigating him as a threat to national security.

"I am 30 years old and I still have not got enough money to marry. I can't find a job. Tell the world to help us. We are dying under Mubarak. Send an SOS." He then set fire to a picture of Gamal Mubarak. "We are supposed to be a democracy even though everyone knows it's a sham. We will not stand by while the presidency passes from father to son."

Gamal Mubarak, son of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, will accompany his father to this week's Washington peace summit in what may be the clearest sign yet that he is being groomed for the succession. ..This time, the younger of the president's two sons is expected to meet with Israeli delegates to U.S.-sponsored peace talks with the Palestinians, and perhaps even with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu himself.

Meeting with Bibi himself? Kind of like meeting the pope we guess... a big deal.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit has denied reports in the Israeli media that a meeting took place between Gamal Mubarak, head of the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP)'s Policies Secretariat and son of President Hosni Mubarak, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

According to Israeli news reports, the meeting--which also allegedly included US President Barack Obama--took place in Washington last week at a business lunch, held on the sidelines of the launch of direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA).

And since this trip surely has nothing to do with securing US and Israeli support for Gamal Mubarak's inheritance of power from his father, there is only one explanation left: The president just wanted to spend quality time with his son on the sidelines of the negotiations, like many fathers who take their kids to work as a form of leisure.

Bibi himself is ready to visit Egypt next month.

"JERUSALEM, ISRAEL - DECEMBER 26: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting on December 26, 2010 in Jerusalem, Israel. Netanyahu is soon expected to discuss developments of the peace process with a visit to Egypt and meeting with President Mohammed Hosni Mubarak in early January 2011." Times of India, 12/27/10

PLEASE CLICK TO ENLARGE -
NOTE THAT NAZARETH WAS A CHRISTIAN AND MUSLIM
CITY IN 1912

The accompanying text reads:

"And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene." (Matthew 2:23, KJV)

Jesus made Nazareth his permanent residence up to the age of about thirty when he officially began his ministry.

The city of Nazareth is a small town, situated in Galilee, west of Capernaum, and not far from Cana. It was built partly in a valley and partly on the slope of a hill. Populated by mostly Gentiles, the city of Nazareth is not mentioned in the Old Testament. Nazareth was considered of little significance, with a special contempt seemingly placed upon it:

"And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? . . ." (John 1:46)

The best explanation of the origin of the city name Nazareth appears to be that which traces it to the word translated Branch, (Hebrew: netzer) in Isaiah 11:1, meaning a small twig, sprout, or sucker, which Isaiah says will come forth from the stem (or stump) of Jesse - a reference to Jesus:

"And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: . . ." (Isaiah 11:1)

Sources Used: Albert Barnes Notes on the Bible; John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible; Jamison, Fausset and Brown Commentary

Today we read about tensions in the city of Nazareth.

http://www.chabad.info/index.php?url=article_en&id=21556

Menorah Against Xmas Tree
Christian and Jewish tensions have intensified in Nazareth, with Christians demanding to have a tree displayed outside the municipality building, and the Jewish population vehemently opposing the move.
By David Yisraeli, Chabad Info
17 Tevet 5771 (24.12.2010)

Tensions between Christians and Jews in Nazareth have become very heated when the mayor of the northern city, Shimon Gaspo stated, "As long as I'm in office, there will be no Xmas tree placed outside a government office, or any other non-Jewish mascot."

The mayor also said he doesn't see why the city's 15% of Arabs, most of whom are Christians, should transform the city. Since his election, Gaspo has indiscreetly sought to Judaize the city.

He has also encouraged Jewish resettlement from other places to his city, causing the slight decrease of 1.2% in the city's Arab population.

Gaspo's administration has decorated the city with illuminated Stars of David, Israeli flags, and on Chanukah erected a large public Menorah outside the municipality building. These public Menorahs have apparently triggered off Christian leaders to demand the displaying of trees to celebrate Xmas.

Gaspo refuses adamantly. "Nazareth Illit is a Jewish city and all her symbols are Jewish," he said angrily. The Arab neighborhoods are full of the season's decoration, but there's no need to transform the entire Jewish city into an Arab (Christian) one."

The city's chief Rabbi Yeshaya Hertzel also expressed opposition to the initiative, arguing, "Nazareth Illit is a Jewish city, and we are in Israel, the Jewish land. The have their neighborhoods and are free to decorate them as they wish. But in the rest of the city, no way. The Menorah and other Jewish symbols are a natural thing in the Jewish city,the Xmas tree are a jarring sight to the Jewish population.

We find it grimly amusing that he would cite the 15% Arab Christian population in Nazareth as a reason why NOT to cater to the minority.

Why doesn't that same rule apply in the United States, where Jews comprise 2-3% of the population, and where the vast majority of the population consider themselves Christian?

Do we cater much to the tiny Jewish minority in the United States? Can anyone seriously deny it? And yet in Nazareth, the city where Jesus grew up, Christmas trees are not allowed outside any government office.

"Joshua Jehouda, a prominent French Jewish leader, observed in the late 1950s: "The current expression 'Judaeo-Christian' is an error which has altered the course of universal history by the confusion it has sown in men's minds, if by it one is meant to understand the Jewish origin of Christianity . . . If the term 'Judaeo-Christian' does point to a common origin, there is no doubt that it is a most dangerous idea. It is based on a 'contradictio in abjecto' which has set the path of history on the wrong track. It links in one breath two ideas which are completely irreconcileable, it seeks to demonstrate that there is no difference between day and night or hot and cold or black and white, and thus introduces a fatal element of confusion to a basis on which some, nevertheless, are endeavouring to construct a civilisation." (l'Antisemitisme Miroir du Monde pp. 135-6)."

^^^^^^^

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

12/22/10

Forty-one guards at the prison have been arrested in connection with the escape December 17th of 151 inmates.

Prison officials broke the law and will be prosecuted. "We are confident that in the next few days we will clear up what (happened), who is guilty and we can move ahead with their punishment."~ Tamaulipas Gov. Eugenio Hernandez

"Authorities have not been able to capture any of the escaped inmates so far."

The whereabouts of warden Efrain Hernandez are unknown. "It is clear that the warden, who is missing at this time, is involved or was threatened or extorted." Gov. Eugenio Hernandez

According to Gov. Hernandez, the identities of all the escaped inmates have been provided to the federal government, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, and the FBI.

The identities of ALL the escaped inmates have been provided to the appropriate authorities in the US, which makes sense, since Nuevo Laredo is just over the border. Good thing they at least know the identities of ALL the escaped inmates.

Dozens of the fusion centers were created after 9/11 to identify potential threats and “improve the way information is shared”. The centers use law enforcement analysts and sophisticated computer systems to compile, or fuse, disparate tips and clues and pass along the refined information to other agencies.

The centers have received billions in funding from the Department of Homeland Security and also work in conjunction with the military arm of the DHS, NORTHCOM.

They also have subscriptions to private information-broker services that keep records about Americans’ locations, employment history, financial holdings, associates, relatives, firearms licenses and the like. Some of these data-brokers, such as one in Maryland called Entersect, claim to hold records about 98 percent of Americans.

Problem: 151 escaped inmates just over the border.... Solution: amazing & sophisticated database funded with billions of dollars from DHS with access to records of 98% of Americans...?

Was this not the point of setting up all these elaborate databases? Wasn't that the point? To catch bad guys?

NO. The point, apparently, is to spy on Americans. These criminals are not Americans. The fact that they escaped just over the border is probably beside the point. The fact that they may be associated with drug lords -- also probably beside the point. These regrettable details make the war on terror go forth and multiply.

In Maryland, authorities rely on a little-known data broker called Entersect, which claims it maintains 12 billion records about 98 percent of Americans.
In its online promotional material, Entersect calls itself "the silent partner to municipal, county, state, and federal justice agencies who access our databases every day to locate subjects, develop background information, secure information from a cellular or unlisted number, and much more."
Police officials said fusion center analysts are trained to use the information responsibly, legally and only on authorized criminal and counterterrorism cases. They stressed the importance of secret and public data in rooting out obscure threats.

Entersect is headquartered in Santa Ana, California and is a subsidiary of Certifion Corporation, which is, in turn, a wholly-owned subsidiary of LocatePlus Holdings Corporation. LocatePlus' other subsidiaries are LocatePlus Corp., Dataphant, Inc. (which acquired Voice Power Technology, Inc.), and Metrigenics, Inc., a biometrics firm.

Looks like LocatePlus has had some problems, however. It appears to be all straightened out now. New management has been installed.

February 26, 2009: "Beverly-based LocatePlus Holdings Corp. has removed James Fields from the role of president, CEO, acting CFO and treasurer, effective immediately. The company gave no reason for Fields’ dismissal." (http://www.masshightech.com/stories/2009/02/23/daily39-LocatePlus-removes-Fields-as-CEO-CFO-president.html)

November 11, 2010: Former LocatePlus execs charged with securities fraud "Two former high-ranking executives of North Shore technology company LocatePlus Holdings Corp. were charged Wednesday with securities fraud and other allegations including using the identity of a man who drowned in Marblehead Harbor in 1985 to bolster their business. Jon Latorella, 47, of Marblehead, and James Fields, 43, of Brookline, were charged in connection with their alleged operation of LocatePlus of Beverly."

..."Barry S. Pollack, a Sullivan & Worcester lawyer representing Fields, issued a statement questioning aspects of the government’s handling of the case. “A thorough exploration into the unusual delays in the investigation and relationships between LocatePlus and the government is expected to paint a far different picture than what appears in the new claims,” he said in the statement."

..."The indictment was announced by Ortiz; William Offord, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation in Boston; and Richard DesLauriers, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation — Boston Field Division. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew E. Lelling. In January, LocatePlus agreed to swap 72,000 shares of Series A preferred stock in LocatePlus in exchange for the $1.8 million in debt held by Dutchess Private Equities Fund Ltd. Founded in 1996 as Worldwide Information Inc., LocatePlus changed its name in 1999." (http://www.masshightech.com/stories/2010/11/08/daily37-Former-LocatePlus-execs-charged-with-securities-fraud.html)

We find it interesting that the SEC decides to go after some people but not others.

Councillors, who were told of the arrests, said police had indicated that the men seized were British nationals of Bangladeshi descent. The men are believed to be aged between 23 and 28....
Greg Maciaj, the other next door neighbour, said he had done some building work for the couple at their restaurant. "They are lovely people, decent people, and very friendly," he said.Ward councillor Mohammed-Sarul Islam said there had been some trouble in recent months with young local people promoting radical views at local mosques. There had also been some trouble around the time of the general election in May, he said, when some election posters had been vandalised, but there was no violence.Islam said the community would have no sympathy for anyone with extreme Islamist views: "This is a peaceful community and we are shocked that there seem to be idiots like this," he added. Islam said he had been told the men were all British nationals.

The group behind last year’s failed Christmas Day bombing and the recent attempt to send two explosives-laden packages to the United States may be looking to attack U.S. food supplies, Fox News has learned.

A source with knowledge of the situation said authorities obtained information “a while ago” indicating a possible plot by associates of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula to target food at hotels and restaurants inside the United States, perhaps slipping harmful agents into salad bars or buffets.

“We don’t have a specific target or time frame, just the intent,” the source said.

Nevertheless, the source said, authorities are not convinced that Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula – or AQAP – has the capability to actually carry out such an attack.

CBS News was the first to report the threat information,noting that the plot may involve the use of ricin or cyanide.However, the source with knowledge of the situation told Fox News that authorities assessed AQAP’s capability to use those bio-agents in such a manner as “low.”

12/19/10

Egyptian security forces have arrested several people suspected of belonging to an Israeli spy network operating in Egypt. The alleged network reportedly consists of two fugitive Israeli officers and four Egyptian nationals.
The State Security apparatus is currently conducting a highly secretive investigation of the suspects.

Investigations have so far revealed that network members had succeeded in establishing two communications offices, one in Cairo and one in the UK, through which they recorded telephone calls made by prominent Egyptian government officials. The calls were then allegedly transferred to a communications office in Israel.

Investigations have further revealed that one of the Israeli officers had managed to recruit a female Egyptian public relations director working at a tourism company to supply him with information, in return for money, about places frequented by certain groups of tourists--including those from China and Japan--near the border region of Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.After being provided with the information, the Israeli officer was then able to kidnap a number of tourists who were allegedly taken to Israel. After several days, kidnapped tourists were then reportedly returned to the place from which they had been abducted.The operation's apparent objective was to destabilize security in the Sinai Peninsula.
Confessions by the defendants have revealed that the two officers had recruited a former female basketball player and her friend to rent a communications office in Cairo, which was run by a third person who has also been arrested. This office was reportedly linked to a communications office in the UK.

The defendants were thus able to monitor and record telephone calls made from certain landlines in Egypt--as specified by the two officers--which were then transferred to the UK office before being re-transmitted to a communications office in Israel.

Egyptian security forces have arrested and detained the Egyptian suspects pending investigation, while public prosecutors have charged them with conducting espionage for a foreign country, recording telephone calls without permission, and forming a "terrorist cell" aimed at disrupting public order.

Interpol, meanwhile, has been asked to issue arrest warrants for the Israeli suspects. Al-Masry Al-Youm has learned that the case file contains more than 15 telephone calls involving high-ranking government officials that were successfully recorded by the suspected spies.

Translated from the Arabic Edition.

Kidnapped tourists who are returned a few days later? Seems like the sort of thing that would make the news. Hmm, let's see... "kidnapped tourists + Egypt" = page after page of one incident in September 2008.

CAIRO — Eleven European tourists kidnapped by masked bandits in southern Egypt were freed Monday after a 10-day odyssey that ended when Egyptian and Sudanese commandos swept across a remote desert landscape.Details of the rescue operation were scant. The tourists -- five Germans, five Italians and one Romanian -- and their eight Egyptian drivers and guides were released early in the day. Their freedom came hours after Sudan announced Sunday that its forces had killed six kidnappers and arrested two others in a gun battle.
Egyptian state-owned television said the tourists were rescued in a "special mission." Egyptian and Sudanese troops with helicopter cover reportedly overpowered the kidnappers in the Sahara desert near the borders of Libya, Egypt and Sudan.Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said his country's special forces also were involved, according to the Italian news agency ANSA.
Frattini later told Italian TV: "It was an operation of excellent professionalism. We have to obviously thank our German friends who worked with us, Egypt as well as Sudan."

Egyptian Defense Minister Mohamed Hussein Tantawi said half of the kidnappers, who over the last week had been described as both tribal bandits and members of a Sudanese rebel group, had been "liquidated."

Zoheir Garana, Egypt's tourism minister, said of the hostages, "They are all in good shape." He added, "I don't know any details about the rescue operation that took place because all the details are with the security authorities that carried out the operation."

There were conflicting reports as to exactly how the tourists were freed, including a Sudanese government version that after the gun battle the hostages were abandoned by the surviving captors and wandered near the Libya-Egypt-Sudan border, where they were discovered by military forces. They boarded a plane with Egyptian commandos and were flown to a military base 25 miles east of Cairo.
The tourists, some waving and holding flowers after getting off the plane, were taken to a military hospital for checkups. They appeared exhausted but not severely injured. The group was greeted by Egyptian authorities and ambassadors from Germany and Italy. It was not clear where the guides and drivers were treated.
The ordeal, which began Sept. 19 near the painted caves of Gilf al Kebir, about 550 miles southwest of Cairo, unfolded amid ransom demands, negotiations and a trek that led the captives over stretches of the Sahara desert in at least two countries. The kidnappers reportedly asked for as much as $6 million in ransom. German negotiators had been in contact with the kidnappers before Sunday's ambush by Sudanese troops. Egyptian authorities said no ransom was paid.The tourists and Egyptians were snatched from four utility vehicles on a landscape of sparse majesty and prehistoric cave paintings. The arid region, site of scenes in the 1996 movie "The English Patient," is a dangerous swath of jagged rocks and dunes ventured to by only intrepid adventure seekers. The fate of the tourists became of national concern for Egypt, which last year took in nearly $8 billion in tourism revenue."We will coordinate with security agencies to make sure this doesn't happen again," said Garana.

A group of European tourists who were kidnapped by armed bandits in the remote deserts of southern Egypt have been freed after a raid that left half of their captors dead, Egyptian officials said yesterday. A force of 30 elite Egyptian troops, accompanied by Italian and German special forces, raided the kidnappers’ camp to release the five Italians, five Germans and one Romanian who were abducted with eight Egyptian guides while on a 4x4 vehicle safari of the desert near the Sudanese border.
...

Details about how the raid was conducted, and even where it took place, were still hazy last night. A Sudanese official said that the hostages had been abandoned before the rescue mission was begun, and that Sudan’s own forces had fought the kidnap gang near the Egyptian and Libyan border the day before. That statement was partially borne out by one of the guides, who said that his captors had been a group of about 17 gunmen who spoke broken Arabic. Sherif Abdel-Moneim said that the gang had treated the group well but abandoned them at dawn yesterday. “Moments later security forces came and rescued us,” he said. The gunmen had told them that they meant the group no harm, he said. “They told us: ‘We won’t do anything to you. Once we get the ransom from your governments, you will walk free’. ” An Egyptian official said that half of the kidnappers had been killed in a gun battle. “Just before dawn two helicopters flew in special forces from the elite Lightning Brigade who freed the hostages. There was a gunfight during which half the around 35 kidnappers were killed and the rest escaped.”
The abduction had been a serious embarrassment to the Egyptian Government, which relies on foreign tourism for revenue and has tried to protect visitors after a series of deadly al-Qaeda hotel bombings in Sinai in the past five years. The incident appeared to have been financially motivated, blamed by some on a small Sudanese rebel group hoping to extort as much as $15 million (£8.4 million).
Zoheir Garrana, the Egyptian Tourism Minister, who met the liberated hostages at the airport, said that no ransom had been paid.

Let's recap.

An Israeli spy ring is broken up in Egypt. The ring allegedly wiretaps high level Egyptian officials, routing their conversations to Israel via the UK. (No mention in Wikileaks then?) The ring also allegedly kidnaps foreign tourists in Egypt, takes them to Israel for several days, and returns them.

Who are these kidnapped tourists, and why haven't we heard about them? Do they not remember being kidnapped and taken to Israel for a few days during holiday? Or is there some other reason they don't call reporters and authorities and complain bitterly about being kidnapped and taken to Israel?

Where are the stories of the tourists taken hostage in Egypt, whisked off to Israel, and then returned? Sounds very interesting.

We can't find these stories, not that we are about to spend too much time on it, but if you find anything, please send a link. A routine google search turns up page after page after page of one particular incident in 2008, in which you are asked to believe the following:

Germans, Italians, and Romanian tourists, along with their Egyptian drivers and guides, go into the middle of the desert, where they are kidnapped by people speaking broken Arabic, thought to be Sudanese rebels. ["Sudanese Arabic is the most widely spoken language in the country, and is dominant in much of the north. It is the result of a mixing of Egyptian Arabic and Arabic from the Arabian peninsula with local languages (El Rutana). This has resulted in a variety of Arabic that is unique to Sudan, reflecting the way in which the country has been influenced by both African and Arabian cultures. Other languages in the north include Nubian languages and Beja or Bedawi." - Wikipedia]

These thugs say they only want money and they won't hurt the tourists. In fact, they let them go MOMENTS BEFORE helicopters and special forces arrive, IN THE DESERT.

Somehow, half the kidnappers are killed and the other half escape! Where did they run and escape in the desert, pursued by special forces in helicopters?!? We certainly don't know how they managed to escape. Just amazing.

And where are the bodies of the dead kidnappers? It's all a bit hazy.

In fact, the whole thing is rather hazy, all except for the part where the whole mission was super successful and heroic, and no ransom had to be paid. Phew!

"It was an operation of excellent professionalism. We have to obviously thank our German friends who worked with us, Egypt as well as Sudan." ~ Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini

Yes you know something we should just wait for Interpol to issue arrest warrants for those two Israeli suspects in the Egyptian spy ring. They'll be on that right after they bring in Whitey Bulger.

legal mumbo jumbo

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